Marijuana activist dies following explosion

Ottawa Citizen ^ | November 1, 2003 | James Gordon

[Loyalist]

CREDIT: Jonathan Hayward, The Canadian Press

Don Appleby died of his injuries suffered in an Oct. 12 explosion while he was trying to make a concentrated oil using marijuana and butane.

Don Appleby's fight against the aids virus that was sapping him was made more difficult by a tragic paradox. While the Ottawa man was one of the few Canadians who could legally smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes, he could rarely afford it due to his minuscule disability pension.

In the end, he was killed in the struggle to produce the drug that was helping him survive.

On Oct. 12, Mr. Appleby was in the bathroom of his Blake Boulevard apartment, trying a dangerous method to get some use out of the non-smokable parts of his marijuana plants.

By injecting butane into a plastic container with the plant in it, he hoped to make a concentrated oil he could use. Friends suspect he then tried to light a joint, igniting an explosion that blew the bathroom door off its hinges.

Residents of the apartment above his heard the explosion, and rushed him to the Ottawa Hospital's General campus. It's where he remained in intensive care since the incident, and where he died Thursday morning.

Ron Whelan was Mr. Appleby's close friend, and was living under the same circumstances. He said yesterday that Mr. Appleby never should have died the way he did.

Both 44, they received about $900 a month on disability, not nearly enough to pay for both marijuana and food. While the government would pay for the $1,500-$2,000 of aids medication Mr. Appleby needed, they wouldn't pick up the cost of the marijuana. Nausea was a side-effect of the pills, and without the drug, he couldn't keep them down.

Forced to buy marijuana himself and pay rent, his friends say Mr. Appleby was reduced to scrounging through dumpsters to find the food he could no longer afford. He would go searching behind restaurants late at night so nobody would see him. At the same time, he wasn't shy about asking people with marijuana gardens to help him.

"You do what you have to do to survive, whether it's beg, borrow or steal," Mr. Whelan said. If one had a bag of dry macaroni from the food bank, he would often go to the other's place to share.

Mr. Appleby decided to try and save some money by growing his own marijuana, and after two failed gardens, things were starting to work out for him. Still, the cost to grow was still high. With no other source of medicine, he resorted to the butane method. He never recovered from the burns that covered 75 per cent of his body and his scorched lungs.

Mr. Whelan said although Mr. Appleby experienced difficult times in the past, he really blossomed after meeting people similar to him. He loved participating in marijuana rallies, and helping others.

"The world needs more people like Donny," he said. "He was there for the underdog, and it's a terrible loss for everyone who knew him."

Mr. Whelan said he doesn't blame the government for what happened to his friend, but said it should take more responsibility and provide for people like him.

© Copyright 2003 The Ottawa Citizen

[Conservative til I die]

I don't know why you're bringing in bible verses here, and while I am pro-drug legalization, you're perverting what Christ said. His comment that it's what comes out of a man that is evil, not what goes in, referred to the Jewish dietary laws that would call a man evil or unclean merely for eating pork or some other prohibited food.

However, that did not mean Christ endorsed drinking to excess, gluttony, or drug abuse.

[Conservative til I die]

Whether an AIDS patient or a dopehead, I find it hard not to have sympathy for someone with burns over 75% of his body. There but for the grace of God...

Yeah, but this is FR, where everyone steps on each other's heads in a mad dash to declare how much holier than thou they are.

[xrp]

Damn that Patriot Act, bring back Janet Reno as the Libertarians on FR will say.

Please provide evidence of a Libertarian calling for the re-instatement of Janet Reno on FR.

[Rome2000]

Surely this is a made-up story? Nobody could be that pathetic or that stupid.

Ever hear of the nine who are running for the Demcratic Presidential nomination?

[Tijeras_Slim]

Forced to buy marijuana himself and pay rent, his friends say Mr. Appleby was reduced to scrounging through dumpsters to find the food he could no longer afford.

Trying to combat the munchies by dumpster diving? The horror! The horror!

[Conservative til I die]

Didn't Christ consort with beggars and prositutes?

That He did, but He didn't endorse their behavior and in fact, condemned it and called on them to make a change in their lives.

Sorry, I'm pro-drug legalization and all, but this sort of religious pandering is pretty shallow.

[Conservative til I die]

There is no reference to not getting a little buzz, though there are many references to drunkenness and slovenliness.

What do you think is the difference between a marijuana, cocaine, or heroin high and drunkenness? Both are inebriation and intoxication.

And after reading this incoherent rant, you may want to lay off the pipe as well, because you're all over the place.

[Conservative til I die]

Actually Pryor later admitted it was a suicide attempt.

[Ches]

"Didn't Christ consort with beggars and prositutes? That He did, but He didn't endorse their behavior and in fact, condemned it and called on them to make a change in their lives. Sorry, I'm pro-drug legalization and all, but this sort of religious pandering is pretty shallow."

Proposing this question is pandering? Or am I misunderstanding you? I do not endorse his lifestyle. Nor do I think he is something other than human.

[Dane]

Going through your link I found no instance of any Libertarian mentioning that the paint thinner caused the fire.

Uh dude maybe you should leave the Libertarian school of reading.

In my reply #36 to tdadmas, I explicitly said that I posted the link on "other" pro-potter threads on FR and the usual reaction from Libertarians was that it was the paint thinner's fault and not the marijuana's.

But what thet hey, you pro-pot Libertarians act like the demo's(sheer irrationality) when one of your issues most dear to you, is questioned, IMO. In this case, the issue of marijuana.

Try again, dumbass, you and cinFLA are nothing the Twins of Falsehood

Like I basically stated and implied above, you Libertarians with your rhetoric and hyperbole could actually make Hillary blush with embarassment, IMO.

I thought that would be an impossible task in todays world, but you Libertraians on FR sure try your damndest to make it happen, IMO.

[Dane]

In any case, the fire is the result of the actions of the individuals, not the paint thinner nor marijuana, both inanimate objects

Oh BTW, get back to me when paint thinner is glorified as "seeing God" and when there is a magazine out there in record stores called "Paint Thinner Times" glorifying the uses of sniffing paint thinner.

[xrp]

You are incorrect in your misguided assumption that I am a Libertarian.

It is nice to see that you have busted out your pom-poms over the death of this individual.

[Dane]

You are incorrect in your misguided assumption that I am a Libertarian

Could have fooled me with your reply #67. That was textbook Libertarian rehtoric(i.e hyperbole).

Hey deny it until the cock crows three times, dude.

It is a bit more than disingenous to hide behind the Peter route though, IMO.

[Conservative til I die]

It's shallow pandering, much like the liberals do, by oversimplifying Christ's words. Yes, Christ didn't believe that what you consumed made you evil, it's your intentions, thoughts, words, and actions (what comes out of a man) that makes one evil. But at the same time, Christ was against drunkenness and gluttony, which were about what goes into a man.

[Conservative til I die]

Dane says "They that live in sin shall die in sin."

[Dane]

Dane says "They that live in sin shall die in sin."

Were you a writer for the CBS docu-drama on Ronald Reagan?

JMO, seems like you were.

With your liberal use of putting words in other peoples mouths and all.

[xrp]

Could have fooled me with your reply #67. That was textbook Libertarian rehtoric(i.e hyperbole). Hey deny it until the cock crows three times, dude.

It isn't surprising that someone as simple-minded as you was fooled. In any case, it is possible for one to believe in liberty and not be a Libertarian.

[Dane]

It isn't surprising that someone as simple-minded as you was fooled. In any case, it is possible for one to believe in liberty and not be a Libertarian.

Whatever, but why deny being a Libertarian? You used classic Libertarian rhetoric with your reply #67. No denying that, dude.

Sheesh just admit your political being is all about pot. Cut the Hillary like posturing dude.

[Ches]

"It's shallow pandering, much like the liberals do, by oversimplifying Christ's words."

Well I'm sorry the questions I direct to others don't live up to your expectations. It was a simple query and meant to be just that. I do not find it necessary to impress myself with intellectual head games nor am I seeking the approval of others on this thread. To me, it is simply a matter of basic human decency regardless of which side of the WOD one comes down on.

As much as I think Osama bin Laden deserves termination, I personally would choose a swift death even if my baser impulses demanded slow and painful revenge. Your use of terms like shallow when corresponding with someone on a thread tells me you just might think you're smarter than those you're addressing. Often I pose questions of a very simple nature and other times of a very complex nature, a little like fishing. No offense taken. Have a nice day. You may want to reread my post #40.